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Sharks' Adam Burish says Canucks have no right to lecture on diving

Joe Thornton #19 of the San Jose Sharks reacts after drawing a slashing penalty.

Photograph by: Christian Petersen
, Getty Images

SAN JOSE -- If Kevin Bieksa's comments about embellishment were calculated to get a response from the San Jose Sharks, he partially succeeded.

San Jose forwards Logan Couture and Joe Thornton, the "so-called Canadians" targeted by the Vancouver Canucks defenceman on Monday for their lack of integrity, took the high road and didn't have much to say following Tuesday morning's game-day skate.

But Adam Burish? Yeah, you guessed it, he had lots to say before Game 4 was played at the HP Pavilion.

Burish and the Canucks have something of a history going back to his days with the Chicago Blackhawks. So when a huge throng of reporters gathered around his dressing room stall, the Sharks' winger did not disappoint.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your tape recorders.

"To be honest, I don't think we're worrying about what he is saying," Burish said. "I guess if I was him while he is up on his soap box and trying to save the integrity of the game and doing all that stuff, I'd swing by player No. 14 (Alex Burrows) and player No. 17 (Ryan Kesler), The Beast, and have a little talk with them, too, about diving and the integrity kind of thing.

"Then he can work his way over to our room, but I'd start with those two guys in his room. . . .In our room we're going to worry about our guys and what we've got to do and how we can be better and not worry about the integrity of the game and having props in our interviews and acting like a lawyer with video evidence and all that stuff. We're not worried about that stuff."

If you read between the lines of what San Jose coach Todd McLellan had to say following Tuesday morning's game-day skate, it was easy to see he was taking some not-so-subtle jabs at the Canucks.

"They used that word embellish and I haven't heard that for a while," McLellan said. "In fact, I think it was in vogue a couple of springs ago."

Two years ago, of course, the Canucks were hearing a little something about embellishment during their run to the Stanley Cup final.

"If we go back now to look at the series, we have been called cheaters after Game 1, we have been called embellishing Canadians after Game 3," added McLellan. "If the series goes deeper we may even be accused of biting eventually (Hello, Alex Burrows). In all seriousness I don't take any offence to it.

"But if I was an official I probably would. I think they have questioned the integrity of the linesmen after Game 1 and now the integrity of the referees after Game 3. But no offence taken by us."

No, none at all.

After his Academy Award-worthy performance on Monday, Bieksa was the lone Canucks no-show at Tuesday's skate and was not made available for interviews.

On Monday, with a hockey stick as a prop, Bieksa spent several minutes calling out Thornton and Couture.

"Those are two Canadian guys who are supposed to be playing the game with integrity," Bieksa said of Couture and Thornton. "Maybe our team has to do more of that. Maybe we have to try and sell calls.”

Earlier, Bieksa had referred to the two Sharks centres as "so-called Canadians."

A smiling Thornton, who has dual citizenship, could not resist responding to that comment.

He wouldn't bite on any other questions, answering simply "we'll just play."

Back in the Vancouver dressing room, Burrows reminded reporters that he has attempted to play a more honest game in recent years.

"I don’t think anybody’s taken a penalty on me yet, so I don’t know what he’s talking about," he said of Burish's comments. "That’s away from the rink, away from the game. The last three or four years, I try to stay on the ice and score goals, be more that kind of player.”

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